The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been effective in establishing building standards that create accessible spaces for people with physical impairments. These guidelines have not addressed the needs of people with mental, emotional, and/or developmental disabilities. With the increase in autism diagnosis, designers/architects need to expand their planning to include more universal solutions. The purpose is to demonstrate ways of designing beyond ADA to address needs of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To design effectively, designers/architects must identify sensory issues that influence these children in establishing a regulatory state enabling effective interaction with neurotypical peers. Design is also important for teachers, therapists, and parents of children with ASD to enable more successful interactions. If the environment is overstimulating for a child with ASD, then a parent/caregiver/therapist will struggle to achieve their goals. Mostafa recommended seven design criteria known as ASPECTSS™: Acoustics, Spatial sequencing, Escape spaces, Compartmentalization, Transition spaces, Sensory zoning, and Safety, when designing for people with ASD. These classifications lay the groundwork for the established guidelines. As designers/architects, we have a responsibility to create inclusive environments. To help, the authors highlighted a vocational center showing one plan that meets ADA guidelines and another that illustrates additional environmental features addressing the needs of people with ASD. These criteria originated from evidence-based solutions derived from a literature review and personal interview. These recommendations demonstrate that sensitivity to the needs of people with autism creates a solution that is better for all people.

Built environment, elderly, evidence-based design, falls, safety.

A major shift in university course work involves activities outside the traditional classroom in which students are required to apply knowledge from the coursework in real-life service-learning environments. Such complex learning contexts generate a level of disequilibrium or anxiety that may or may not result in transformative learning.             This phenomenological study examined student reflective writings from an Honors service-learning course at a medium-sized mid-western university for evidences of transformative learning, the precipitating disequilibria, and the significant pedagogical structures underlying growth.            All students learned and all students encountered disquieting experiences; however, only half the participants exhibited varying levels of transformative learning.  Results indicate that transformative learning requires time, space, and appropriate scaffolding to develop or augment personal internal systems of adjusting what one thinks and how one thinks about new information and experiences.            The results further suggest that a framework of iterative service experiences, grounded in course content, readings, faculty-student-community dialogue, and continuous, thoughtfully designed, reflective practice can maximize transformative learning potentials. Future research should continue to explore how service-learning is experienced by individual participants and what contextual factors are essential for increasing the likelihood that transformative learning will occur.

As people age, environments supporting changing needs can potentially impact their quality of life. Aging often leads to a decrease in the ability of people to interpret sensory cues within their environment. Using Pastalan's Empathic Model as a framework, a list of guidelines for the physical environment was established to address the extrinsic risk factors affecting falls. Attention to these items may not prevent all falls but will mitigate some of the external risks that cause falls for older adults. It is the goal of the authors that these guidelines be utilized as a design tool by families, design professionals, and healthcare providers for assessing sensory cues that can enhance aging adults' ability to maneuver within the built environment. Enhanced knowledge can serve to increase the safety, comfort, and ability of residents to maneuver the environment on their own.

Purpose: The objective was twofold: 1) summarize research-informed environmental characteristics into Mostafa’s seven ASPECTSS™ criteria for people who are aging, and for children who have autism, and 2) apply those characteristics within the context of a Green House planned intergenerational facility providing support to adult child with autism, and their parent(s). Background: The rate of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses is increasing, making it important to design spaces for people with ASD. Approximately 85% of children with ASD live with their parents (Mykyta, 2012). Ahrentzen & Steele (2010) identified the need to develop housing options for people with ASD. Method: Design considerations from a literature review were organized into two tables: 1) aging adults and 2) people who have ASD. Shared characteristics were placed into a third table using Mostafa’s seven ASPECTSS™ criteria, and then applied to the intergenerational facility plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of intentional planning by caregivers and the design community. Results: When integrating Mostafa’s ASPECTSS™ framework, and the intergenerational Green House Model, the application of design choices within housing demonstrates that appropriately designed space can positively impact persons and families with autism, regardless of age. Conclusion: Findings show numerous overlapping design criteria for people with autism and aging adults that can lead to effective environmental solutions for both. This facility type has the potential to minimize family fracture since aging parents are supported in their ability to care for their child with autism.